The Opelousas courier., 1887-03-05
DURING THE WAR.
Flow People Managed Within
the Confederate Lines.
Substitutes for Various Necessaries Of Life
and Articles Of Apparel

SIT would be a difficult matter" re-
marked an old ox-confederate to Gen.
Fairchild, the commander of the Grand
Army of the Republic, on the occasion
of his recent visit here, "to convey to
you any adequate idea of the many diff
culties the southern people within the
Confederate lines were compelled to face
and endure and overcome during the four
years of the civil war. We were not
then a manufacturing people and did not
know how to deny ourselves anything
that we had been used to before the wal
came on. The item of salt was IN inn
portant one, and when the supply was
cut off the people dug upthe soil OF their
smoke houses, and by q process of boil
ing managed to get a very fair article OF
sa;t-not white, of course, but salt.
Sugar was difficult to obtain, but after a
while the people learned to make a very
fair article from the cane by means Of
rude instruments made by hand. The
war was a blessing in this respect, fol
being compelled to do these things we
grew to understand and appreciate the
Importance of handicraft, of manufacture
ing and of invention. The idea has
been growing in the south ever since.
We had no castor oil, but, by and by,
somebody discovered how to make
very good oil out of the castor bean
which grows wild in many places in the
south. We knew all about raising
tobacco, and we often traded it with
your people for things which we most
nceded-coffee, sugar and salt. Our
mills were few and far between, and
flour scarce. l have eaten pies often,
the crust of which was made of finely
sifted corn meal. | don't know how it
would be now, but in those days such
pies were not bad. Our brave-hearted
women learned to make their own shoes.
Lovers, if they happened to belong to
the cavalry, cut off their saddle skirts
and sent them to their sweethearts for
soles. If a fellow belonged to the in
and had a sweetheart, he stole
the saddle skirts of his cavalry comrade
and sent them to her. The uppers wee
made of confederate gray cloth and
sewed or to the leather soles by fair
In 1864 a calico dress was a
prize, and the own r was looked upon
as somebody above the ordinary. Rice
was plentiful, but we were
forced to use crude instruments with
which to clean it and husk it. Coffee
a luxury beyond our dreams, but by
and by we learned to make it of corn,
rye and barley. I have known
rye coffee to sell for 81 per cup. Our
people learned also to tan hides. and
when shoe backing gave out we mixed
and cream, or SCOT and butter, OF
SCOT and oil together and made a fine
When there were no wagons
teams ie1t q people burned their
Writing paper could not be
1ad, and newspapers were printed o
he reverse side of wall paper. l have
'ecn the boys get letters from the j
'weethearts written on brown paper. s
Dur piekets traded tobacco with your s
for sugar and coffee. There was 6
young man in u company who was 9
constantly getting up trades with the {
ranks across the river, and he risked his
ife a number of times in order to get
lis Yankee sugar and coffee to his sweet.
leart. He did not care for such things +,
himself, but he was determined that his
,irl should not suffer for the want of
hem. There is no doubt that his eff.
orts in her interest in this respect won her r..
Ieart, for after the war they were mar !
led, and now he is a sugar planter in
iou;siana. -NashgiNe Banner.